Use this versatile GUI tool to support users when they need to make a decision that involves considering multiple attributes of a small number of offerings. Consistency in content, scannability, and a simple layout are some of the most important qualities of successful comparison tables.

In Part 1 of this two-part series on agile development, I’ll first describe the four phases of agile development projects:* Phase 1: Conception* Phase 2: Definition* Phase 3: Planning* Phase 4: Deployment

UX practitioners often use the power of storytelling in their work — personas, scenarios, and UX stories all incorporate specific details and cause-and-effect relationships to make user needs more concrete and persuasive for designers and stakeholders. But, like any tool, these narrative techniques are risky when misused.

Agile product-development offers opportunities for overcoming issues that traditional development methods introduce. However, incorporating user experiences (UX) practices to an Agile framework is a major challenge in many organizations. We recently conducted research to determine the best practices for integrating UX methods with Agile development projects. We focused the research on techniques that successful UX practitioners use to support Agile teams.

In recent years, we’ve seen a lot of interest towards creating modular UI patterns that work well across a variety of screens and window sizes. One such new UI component is the card — a snapshot-like display intended to encourage users to click or tap to view more details.

What value is there in technology—the Internet, apps and various forms of media—unless there’s a human benefit? Unfortunately, there’s a lot of software out there that doesn’t benefit all people. Designers, management and developers often pay more attention to security and performance than accessibility. Accessibility is usually a low priority in software, if it’s even a priority at all. Accessibility should be a higher priority. WebAIM estimates 20 percent of Web users have accessibility needs or rely on assistive technologies. That’s more than 60 million people in the United States alone who may have difficulty using your Web site or app or consuming your content. For most Web sites and apps, lost customers equates directly to lost revenue.